(Newberg, Oregon – February 3, 2009) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a $325,700 settlement with A-Dec Inc., for 116 violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). To date, this is the largest FIFRA settlement in the Pacific Northwest.

The settlement follows an Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) inspection of A-Dec’s Newberg, Oregon facility on April 17, 2007. The ODA inspection was in response to a tip received by EPA, which stated that A-Dec was selling an unregistered pesticide. EPA’s subsequent investigation found that A-Dec was selling its product, “ICX,” without EPA registration.

According to Michelle Pirzadeh, EPA's acting Regional Administrator in Seattle, selling a pesticide before it is registered circumvents the multiple safeguards put in place by EPA to ensure the safety and efficacy of a product.

“In addition to protecting human health, this action serves to level the playing field within the pesticide industry” said EPA’s Pirzadeh. “Because of the many tests required by EPA, registering a pesticide is an expensive process. A company unlawfully avoiding registration puts law-abiding companies at a competitive disadvantage.”

ICX is a dental waterline cleaner, which claimed to control bacterial contamination. A-Dec applied for registration in 2006; however, A-Dec sold the product before the product was registered. EPA put a stop-sale on ICXin September 2008. This stop-sale was in place until the product was registered later that month. EPA had information showing that A-Dec sold ICX from 2006-2008 before the product was registered.

A-Dec sold ICX to dental practices, dental schools, and military bases across the United States. A-Dec Inc., located at 2601 Crestview Drive in Newberg, Oregon, has since registered ICX and resumed selling the product.